Via CNN:
The family of Frank Gifford says the revered sportscaster and NFL star suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a progressive brain disease linked to the types of brain injuries and head trauma common in football.
"While Frank passed away from natural causes this past August at the age of 84, our suspicions that he was suffering from the debilitating effects of head trauma were confirmed when a team of pathologists recently diagnosed his condition," the family said in a statement released Wednesday.
There is speculation that, like Rock Hudson and AIDS, such a famous player and broadcaster having CTE will be a turning point for the NFL, along with the new Will Smith film Concussion that is opening in a few weeks.
How bad is it going to get? I dunno, but I'm watching this season as if it will be the last. It won't be, but how much longer? I mean, I LOVE the game, and the non-profit-owned-by-the-people Packers, but I don't want to see player's brained turned to jelly just for my entertainment, either. I stopped watching boxing after I saw what it did to Muhammad Ali.
Can the game survive in anything like it's current form? They say they can't make a helmet to actually protect players, so I don't know.
But players are more important than the game to me.